Thursday, December 27, 2012

Frosty Fun Finale

Happy Holidays!

Today's post is very short because to be totally honest, I am totally wiped out. Christmas done done me ie! That of course is a good thing because it means I spent time with my adorable, incredible, absolutely fantastic grandchildren!

This actually is an older card I made awhile back before I was on honored to become a part of the Dreamweaver Design Team. You see, I have been in love with Dreamweaver Stencils for quite some time and being on the Dream Team is just icing on the cake for me.

The card is very much me, clean and simple in design. Both the Snowflake ornament and the snowflake background were paste embossed with original Dreamweaver embossing paste and then sprinkled with crystal glitter. Very simple, very easy and very festive!

I hope something in one of the weekly Dreamweaver Dream Team posts has inspired you to participate in this month's Dreamweaver Frosty Fun challenge. The challenge this month is to create a wintery delight. As you've seen from this month's posts, it can be a card, an ornament, a vase....whatever your creative mind desires! There will be two winners, one for "Best Interpretation of the Challenge" and the other for "Best Usage of Dreamweaver products." Each of the winners will receive a brand new stencil design that will be released at CHA next month.

To enter just link up to Mr. Linky or if you don't have an online account, email your creation to Dreamweaver at lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com.

Thank you so much for visiting today. I wish you the bestest of new years and a wonderful, happy and healthy 2013.

Until next year when we "meet" again,

Cherylynn

Thursday, December 20, 2012

A Frosty Hostess Gift

Every year I vow to make homemade gifts instead of giving store-bought gifts and everyone year I fail at that.

This year I am quite proud of the number of homemade gifts I actually did get made. (Of course, that was at the expense of making any Christmas cards but....)
Most of my gifts are quick and easy to make, and quite inexpensive. And today's post definitely fits that description!

It seems the rage this year seems to be embellished candles. All of the stores are carrying candles covered and decorated with glitter and gem. And they are quite expensive. I love the look but I didn't love the price so instead I made my own.

I've already shared with you embellishing candles with paste embellishments and paste embossing on glass. However I do know that there a one or two of you who are still not paste converts yet so this post is for you!

Using Dreamweaver's double-sided mounting paper and the double glitter technique, I created this with a 99 cent votive holder and a votive candle. Since I already had the stencil, the glitter and the double-sided mounting paper, this gift cost me less than $2 to make!!!

Supplies used:


LJ819 Snowflake stencil on double-sided mounting paper
adhered to a votive candle holder

I know from the picture above it doesn't look like much, but look at it all lit up set amongst my Santa hats!


I made several of these and have set them on a silver platter with faux snow and set it on the center of our buffet.

Please take a moment or two and give yourself a holiday gift by visiting all the Dreamweaver blog and all the other Dream Team blogs for some holiday inspiration. Remember you have until December 31 to create your Frosty Fun creation and submit it for this month's challenge!

Since I probably won't be posting again until after Christmas, I'd like to wish you all a wonderful, happy, healthy Christmas filled with lots of love and surrounded by friends and family.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Life!

Thursday, December 13, 2012

A Quick and Frosty Gift

I have a couple of Christmas favorites. One of them is to make homemade, inexpensive gifts for neighbors and co-workers. And since time is always an issue, they have to be quite inexpensive.

Another favorite thing of mine is to bring the outdoors in for the holidays. I love the scent of pine, cedar....and the look and feel of snow.

So with that in mind, I thought I'd share you with a very quick, very inexpensive gift I made that I made for a neighbor.

The technique is identical to that done by both Lynell and Louise last week. When doing Christmas presents, I find it is easier to stick with the same stencil, just vary the vessel for variety. It makes clean up much simpler and hence saves me LOTS of time.


The cedar is leftover from a garland I made and the vase was on sale for $4! Considering I already had the stencil, the white paste and the glitter, this entire gift cost me less than $5! You can't beat that for inexpensive!

I know the holidays are a busy time but please take some time for yourself and wander over to the other Dream Team blogs for some more holiday inspiration. Hopefully you'll find a few minutes to participate in this months Frosty challenge because I've seen the new stencils and you definitely do not want to miss out on getting one for yourself!

Hugs to you all and hope your holiday season is bright and merry!

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Quck and easy ornament


Ahhh...December! Brrrr....!!! This month Dreamweaver and the Dream Team  are challenging you to design a wintery delight. It can be something other than paper, but again there will have two winners: "Best interpretation of the challenge" and "best usage of Dreamweaver products".

This last month of the year we will award each of these winners a brand new stencil design we are releasing at CHA. (It's a secret until the very end of the month!)

So to get you in the frosty mood, I thought I'd share a Christmas ornament I made using the LL399 Antler Snowflake, Regular embossing paste and glitter!

This was so quick and easy. Just paste the snowflake on a piece of transparency and sprinkle with glitter while its still wet. Once try, using a circle cutter or die, cut the snowflake to the same radius as the inside of the ornament. Roll the ornament up over a chopstick, slide inside and remove the chopstick. As it unrolls, use the chopstick to anchor it to the sides of the ornament. I added some faux snow inside and voila! all done and ready for hanging on the tree! (Only problem is that when I took the picture, I failed to realize that one of the prongs was still outside the ornament--oops!)


 
Please check out the other Dream Team for other blogs and then get busy working on your own creation. December is a crazy month for most of us, so don't delay or you'll miss out on winning a brand new, not even yet released stencil!
 
And remember, if you don't have a local stamp store to purchase your Dreamweaver product, you can always get all that you need over at Stencil with Style.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Illuminating Snowflakes

Good morning and a HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all my US friends! Today is such a wonderful day of love and gratitude. By far this is my favorite day of the year.

Today for my Clean and Simple Festive Holiday Challenge, I am sharing a card that was inspired by two of my dearest friends. Last week we had a stamping get together and everyone brought projects to share. One dear friend, Sue, created a card using a Karen Stolfer's "Stick Chick" stamp and the other dear friend, Denise, created a Twisted Easel card using vellum.

I combined both those ideas and came up with a Twisted Easel card using a "Stick Chick" stamp and Dreamweaver's Snowflake stamp:


The snowflakes were paste embossed on vellum using original paste and then sprnkled with glitter. When you place the faux tea light behind the vellum, it illuminates and really makes the glitter sparkle.

I'm off now to finish the desserts and then put our 21 pound turkey in the oven. Wish me luck, its the largest turkey I've ever made!

Please take some time for yourself over the next few days and visit the other Dream Team blogs for holiday inspiration.

Hugs and many blessings to you all,
Cherylynn

Friday, November 16, 2012

Holiday CAS Week 3

Happy Holidays!

I know, its not even Thanksgiving yet but if you are a crafter and have any desire to make your Holiday cards this year, its already the holiday season. And that is one of the reasons Dreamweaver is having a Clean and Simple Holiday Challenge this month. Hopefully we'll inspire you with some ideas to create your own cards.

This week I am sharing 3 cards we are making in my Holiday Dreamweaver paste class.


This class features 3 different techniques but none of the cards take all that much time. From left-to-right order, the techniques are: Marbling, Using Paste as an Embellishment and Double Pasting.

Remember to check out the other Dream Team blogs (all the links can be found on the right) this week for additional holiday inspiration.

I'll be back on Monday with some more holiday inspiration. Why don't you set some time aside this weekend to work on your Dreamweaver Holiday challenge? You have nothing to lose and a stencil to win!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Ranger Challenge Week 4


We've now had four weeks of festively distressed fun playing with the Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Powders along with our wonderful line of Dreamweaver Stencils and products. Huge thanks to Tim Holtz and the fab people at Ranger for sharing these four collaborative weeks with us, and providing the yummy shades of Distress Powders for us to create with. We've been inspired by the process, and we hope you have, too!

If you haven't won one of the prize packages yet, you still have one more opportunity this week as the set below is up for grabs to a random commenter on one of the Dream Team blogs.


If you've been following along each week, you've seen some gorgeous creations with these stencils and powders, so you should be all fired up to get distressed! If you've missed the first three weeks, check them out once you've made the rounds today:

For this week's Festively Distressed project, I went with the November challenge of Clean and Simple Christmas. This entire card, from start to finish, took me less than 15 minutes to make. What could be faster?


 
I began my rubbing Dreamweaver's Handmade Hawaiian soap (which smells incredible) on the back side of both the LG675 Pine Cones stencil and the LM139 Happy Holidays stencil.

Then I layed soap side down against a piece of double-sided mounting adhesive that was cut just slightly smaller than the stencil. Burnish the stencil well to this adhesive to avoid any air pockets. I removed the second piece of adhesive liner and adhered this piece to layering cardstock. (This gives your adhesive film a piece of stability.)

Then using a straw, I sprinkled on the Distress Embossing Powders one at a time, shaking off the excess as I went. When I had all the colors I wanted on the image, I CAREFULLY removed the stencil and sprinkled the Antique Linen DEP over the exposed adhesive paper. 

Then just using my heat gun, I melted the DEP and layered the card onto coordinating cardstock.

So easy yet the texture of the DEP really adds dimension to the finished project.

Dreamweaver products:
 LG675 Pine Cones
LM139 Happy Holidays
Double-sided Mounting Adhesive
Hawaiian soap

Ranger Distress Embossing Powders:
Distress Embossing Powders in Pine Needles, Vintage Photo, Tea Dye
 and Antique Linen

Don't forget to leave me some love before hopping to the rest of the Dream Team blogs:


 Please remember to continue to follow the team through the Dream It Up! blog as we bravely go where no stenciler has gone before, to like us on our Facebook page, and to learn from our fabulous weekly Thursday Tutorials on Paper Craft Planet as well.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Dreaming of a White Christmas

One of my all-time favorite Christmas carols is Bing Crosby's rendition of "White Christmas". Growing up in Chicago, you would think we'd have snow for Christmas. Unfortunately I have more memories of just dreaming of a white Christmas than actually have snow on the ground.

So in keeping with my white Christmas dreams, here is another card from my upcoming classes which also uses JustRite stamps.



Remember tomorrow is Dreamweaver Thursday! I hope you'll stop on by because the Dream Team will once again be sharing their creations using Tim Holtz Distressed Embossing Powder!

Until then, smile, the elections are over!

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

A Red and White Christmas

Happy Election Day! Its a great day, regardless of who wins and what your political beliefs because now we can stop be besieged by all the campaign ads and get on with working on solving some of our critical issues here in the U.S. (Please, lets not turn this post into a political commentary forum.)

Now on to another joyful topic: Christmas!

This card is one we will be making in my upcoming Dreamweaver paste classes. This class is slightly more advanced than a basic class and will open up students to seeing their Dreamweaver stencils in a totally different way (or at least I hope!)



I hope you'll stop by again tomorrow when I'll share another card, this one using JustRite stamps. And don't forget to hop on by on Thursday for the final round of Dreamweaver's challenge with Ranger to use Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Powder.

Hugs and happy day!

Monday, November 5, 2012

It's beginning to look a lot like....

Yes, its that time of year again! November is here and that means Christmas is just a few short stamping days away! That also means that I will be posting quite frequently on this blog, sharing some of my Christmas creations, both cards and projects.

Today I thought I'd start with one of the cards we will be making in my November and December classes.



I just love the vintage colors and warm textures of this card.

Tomorrow I'll share another card from my upcoming classes, this one definitely will be a bit "chillier".

Until then, happy creating.

Cherylynn

Thursday, November 1, 2012

A Distressing Christmas



Still feeling festive? We hope so! Dreamweaver and Ranger still have two weeks left of our Festively Distressed collaboration, and we are full of distressing ideas...Tim Holtz' Distress Powder ideas, that is. Mixed with our fabulous line of stencil designs and exciting products, your creativity will know no bounds! If you missed the first two weeks, start HERE and HERE!

For our postings this week and next, we are offering you the opportunity to win one of two prize packages, perfectly coordinated for your holiday crafting. Simply leave a comment on each of our Dream Team's posts, and YOU could be one of two randomly selected winners!




The Dream Team have been challenged for the month of November to create something CAS (clean and simple) for the holidays. The extra challenge is mixing the Distress Powders in for the collaboration with Ranger. Think that it's possible? Well...let's see...

Here's what I came up with:



SUPPLIES:
LL570 Pine Trees; LJ878 Snowsplatter; LM203 Happy Christmas
Translucent EmbossingPaste; Black Embossing Paste;
Paste Spreader; Palette Knife
 
Distress Ink: Pine Needles, Vintage Photo and Black Soot
Distress EmbossingPowder: Pine Needles, Vintage Photo and Black Soot

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.  Begin by first stenciling LL570 Pine Trees with Distress Inks onto blue cardstock; heat set.

2.  Using Translucent Paste, paste emboss LJ878 Snowsplatter over dried trees; remove stencl and sprinkle with Crystal glitter; set aside to dry.

3.  Die cut Tim Holtz Alterations Pine Tree and color with Distress Inks; sprinkle with Distress Embossing Powder and heat emboss.

4.  Using Black Embossing Paste, paste emboss LM203 Happy Christmas over snowsplatter; remove stencil and sprinkle with Black Soot Embossing Powder; set aside to dry. When dry, heat emboss to melt powder.

5.  Layer cardstock as shown and embellish with diecut Pine Tree.

Clean and Simple!

So tell me what you think in your comment below before heading over to the rest of the Dream Team posts:


The Ranger blog is offering another amazing prize opportunity, just for playing along with the Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Powders and Dreamweaver Stencils and linking your creation on the Ranger blog. You can find more details HERE.

We hope that you have been inspired by our creations, and will continue to follow the Dream Team through the Dream It Up! blog as well as to like us on our Facebook page. We really encourage you to play along with our monthly challenges for more prize opportunities and creative fun!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

A Festively Fall Canvas



Welcome back to week two of our amazing collaboration between Ranger's Tim Holtz line of Distress Powders, and our beautiful Dreamweaver Stencils & Products! If you missed last week's event, start HERE.

Last week, we were totally blown away by the awesome response we received from those of you who hopped over from Tim Holtz's blog and the Ranger blog to check us out! We've been doing the "happy dance" ever since! Hopefully, you will continue to check us out, especially over the next few weeks as we continue our play-time in Tim's sandbox. (It is rather an appropriate metaphor considering the cool texture of his Distress Powders.)

Apparently, Tim and the wonderful people at Ranger were also excited by the response, and they've decided to "up the ante" in the form of an additional prize package(s) which will include TWELVE Distress Powders each, and a handful of Dreamweaver Stencils to go with! Wow! Just one teeny-tiny detail...to win one of these packages from their blog, you need to create something with Tim Holtz's Distress Powders and Dreamweaver Stencils and attach it to the inlinkz on the Ranger blog. Winners will be selected randomly. For more details, head over to the Ranger blog.

Once again, this week we are offering another fall prize package as shown here. Just leave us all some love as you visit, for an opportunity to be the one random winner we select. Curious as to who won from last week? It could be YOU! Visit the Dream It Up! blog for the announcement of the lucky commenter.




For this week's project, I chose to use the LJ832 Cornucopia to create a Thanksgiving canvas which will sit on our Thanksgiving Table as part of the centerpiece.



  1. I began first by staining an 8x8 Canvas with Aged Mahogany and Vintage Photo Distress Stain and adorned the corners with Tim Holtz's Ideology Corners.
  2. Then using Dreamweaver's Original Paste, I paste embossed the LG832 Cornucopia stencil on a piece of cross-stitch cloth. I originally had tried to use burlap but the weave was a bit too loose for the detail of this stencil. (Tomorrow I will share a card I made this same technique with burlap!).
  3. Once the paste was dry, I realigned the stencil and using a sponge dauber, applied Distress Embossing Ink.
  4. Then came the fun part! After removing the stencil, using a tiny spoon, I sprinkled Distress Embossing Powders over the wet ink. Using my heat gun, I melted the powder to give it the mottled look.
This was a really fun project which has inspired me to make another one for our  hristmas table. I hope it has inspired you to give it a try. It's inexpensive, easy and a lot of fun!

To recap, here's a list of all the Ranger and Dreamweaver supplies I used:
 
Ranger Distress Embossing Ink
Ranger Aged Mahogany and Vintage Photo Distress Stains
Ranger Distress Embossing Powders: Black Soot, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Orange Marmalade, Peeled Paint, Shabby Shutters and Mustard Seed
Dreamweaver LJ832 Cornucopia Stencil
Dreamweaver Original Embossing Paste
Dreamweaver Palette Knife
Dreamweaver Paste Spreader

Aren't you excited to see what's next? Check out the Dream Team players for today:


You already know where to find Ranger's/Tim Holtz' products, but if you are having difficulty finding Dreamweaver, encourage your local stamp/paper-craft store to carry the line of fabulous stencil designs, pastes, and other products to mix with all of your stash of Tim's crafty goodness. You can also purchase our products on-line at Stencil with Style.

We'd love to see you come back regularly and play along with our monthly challenges (and more opportunities to win stencils) by linking your creations to the mr. linky on the Dream It Up! blog, or emailing pics of your creations to lynell@.... Since you're on the computer already, head on over and like us on Facebook as well. Just another location for dreamy and distressed inspiration!

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Playing with Distressed Embossing Powders




The Dream Team are so excited to have the opportunity to play along with some unique Ranger Products in the Tim Holtz line...specifically, the Distressed Embossing Powders! Our own Louise Healy demonstrated how fabulous these are with the Dreamweaver Stencils when she created this card for a fun class at CHA Summer 2012:


Apparently, Tim Holtz agreed with all of us on this unique use of his product, so he very generously had Ranger (thanks, Patti!) send the team some samples to play and blog with. So...here we go!

Here's my post for today::


I know it doesn't exactly fall into the Festively Fall theme but I have a good reason. I have been busy working on a tutorial for the PaperCraft Planet blog for the polymer clay pendant featured last week. (See blog post below for a link to the tutorial.)
Today's card definitely falls into the Clean and Simple, yet Distressed/Grunged category. The supplies used are:
After securing the stencil with removable tape on the kraft cardstock, apply Embossing Paste using Paste Spreader, remove and clean stencil; set aside to dry. When dry, realign the stencil and apply the Distress Embossing Ink in a pouncing motion with a sponge. Remove stencil and sprinkle on Black Soot EP (remember to shake first). Heat with the Craft Tool. Unlike traditional embossing powders, the Distress Powders don't change appearance all that much when heating, so use your best judgment, lightly testing an area with your finger if you're unsure. Remember, you can always heat again and even apply more ink and powder if you want to, but you can't remove the scorch marks if you burn your cardstock!
Once the Embossing Powder has cooled, rub over it with your finger to remove some of  the powder to give it a distressed look. Option: use a different colored EP, like Vintage Photo or Walnut Stain to have the black paste appear more prominent.
Using your blending tool, edge the embossed cardstock with the Vintage Photo ink and adhere the Watchface and gears where desired. Mount to folded card, sit back and admire your results!
Very easy, very distressed and very much done in classic Tim Holtz style.
For the next four weeks, on our regular Thursday posts, we will be featuring the wonderful things that you can do with Tim's Distress Powders and Dreamweaver Stencils. Leave comments on each of the team blog posts (links below) for an opportunity to win this fabulous prize package compliments of Ranger Ink and Dreamweaver Stencils:


And here are the links to all the blogs.




Don't forget to play along with the Dream Team's monthly challenges for more opportunities to win some great stencil designs! October's challenge is Festively Fall, and November is CAS (clean and simple) Christmas! Link your creations on the Dream It Up! blog, or email pics to lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com. Join us on Facebook as well! Lots of inspiration, and lots of fun!

A PCP Giveaway!

So, a couple of weeks I shared with you this stunning pendant that I made using Polymer Clay and Dreamweaver's LJ906 Maple Leaf Branch stencil.

Dreamweaver L906 Maple Leaf Branch
Dreamweaver Metallic F/X
on Polymer Clay

I had so many wonderful emails and comments that I created a tutorial on how it was done and posted it on my PaperCraft Planet's blog.

Leave me some love on the PCP blog and remember to add what stencil you'd like to win if you are the lucky winner of the weekly Dreamweaver stencil Giveaway on PCP!



Thursday, October 11, 2012

A Festively Fall Candle

Okay, so we all know how incredible and versatile Dreamweaver stencils are for making cards and scrapbook pages BUT did you know they are also great for home decor projects? WHAT you say? Well, today I will share with you a FAST and very, very EASY project perfect for your fall decorating or even your Thanksgiving table!


LL471 Leaf Icon Stencil
Gold and Copper Embossing Paste
Isn't this candle just beautiful? And to think I just took a cheap pillar candle by using the LL471 Leaf Icon stencil and embossing paste!

To begin, firmly secure a piece of waxed paper or palette paper onto your work surface.Then, just like as if you were using cardstock, tape your LL471 stencil onto the wax paper.

 
 
I pasted it once with gold paste and then a second one with copper paste. Now just set aside to dry. I usually let mine dry overnight because I want it to be completely dry. I don't use my griddle for this because I'm not sure how the waxed paper will react to heat, but if you're feeling brave, give it a try!
  
Now comes the "tricky" part. Once the pasted leaves are completely dry, gently peel them off the waxed paper. I usually use my palette knife to get started and then very gently pull it off the waxed paper with my fingers.
 
To attach to the candle I just gently rub it onto the candle with  my fingers and then give it a quick zap with my heat gun for the wax to soften and incorporate the paste image ever so slightly. You can also use glue or glue dots to adhere it as well.
 
Doesn't this open up a million more stencil possibilities for you? Just think of all you can do for your holiday decorating. Imagine doing this but sprinkling on glitter to the wet paste. Oooooh I can see the sparkle now. Or what about doing it with leaves, the Molten Magic technique and Metallic F/X? Oh the possibilities.
 
Here's a more glitzed up version, where I added glitter to the wet paste and then embellished with pearls for accent.
 

Which one version do you prefer?
 
Just think, you're Dreamweaver stencils have now become a sticker maker! Who woulda thunk it?
 
Just remember, this technique truly works best on solid images. If there are a lot of cutouts or bridges, it will make it just a bit trickier!
 
After leaving me some love, please  head over to the other Dream Team blogs to see what wonderfully fall creations they have in store for you.
 
Until we meet again, hugs and happy creating.
 


Thursday, October 4, 2012

Festively Fall

Welcome to October and a new challenge from Dreamweaver stencils! The theme of the challenge this month is "Festively Fall". And so to get us started on that path, I thought I'd share with you 4 different projects I created using the same stencil, Maple Branch LJ906.

The first, a card, was created last year and I think perfectly represents the changing colors of the season.


This card was first machine embossed and then colored with pigment inks and a stencil brush. Very quick, very simple and very stunning.

The next card is one I will be teaching at Stampin' Cat on October 13. It uses Twinkling H2Os for the background and copper paste and Metallic F/X with the stencil.



And finally, I'll share with you my favorite and one that brings me a TON of compliments each time I wear it.


This pendant was made by embossing the Maple Leaf stencil over conditioned polymer clay and then brushing it with Metallic F/X. I wish you could see this in person. It truly is stunning.

I  hope by showing you just some of the versatility of Dreamweaver stencils you will be inspired to play along with our challenge this month. There are two winners each month. Please check out Dreamweaver's blog for all the details on how to enter (and win!)

And for more inspiration and amazing eye candy, please check out the other Dream Team blogs. You can find all their links in the right hand column.



Thursday, September 27, 2012

A Cloisonne Rose

Good morning,

Disclaimer: This is not the post I intended to put up today however life has a way to always override best intentions. Next week, when I come up for air, I'll post a really fun autumn-themed and inky card.

For today, I'm sharing a quick and easy inky faux cloisonne card that I created with one of the newer Dreamweaver stencils from the May 2012 release, LG744 Rose Tree.



I have to keep this post really quick today but if you would like more info on how to do the faux cloisonne technique, please email me and I'll be glad to send all the details on this card to you.

Hugs, its back to the land of insanity for me!

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

A Textural Autumn

Hello and welcome to another "installment" from my upcoming classes here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. As I have mentioned before, I love autumn and this card definitely screams AUTUMN, both in color and in texture.

LJ960 Maple Branch
The background paper is watercolor washed with Twinkling H2Os. I wish the photo did this card justice. It truly is stunning in person!

I'll be back on Thursday with my last take on the Dreamweaver Get Inky Challenge!

Saturday, September 22, 2012

A Bright Happy Birthday to You!

Hello and welcome!

As promised, here is another sneak peek for my upcoming classes. This particular card is for the Dreamweaver stencil class to be taught at Karen and Friends Creations on September 29 and at Stampin' Cat Studio on October 13. I'd love it if you could join us!

LJ920 Jumbo Happy Birthday
This particular card uses one of the newly released stencils that I fell in love with the minute I saw it! For another take on how to use this stencil, please check out Pam Hornschu's project for the current Dreamweaver "Get Inky" challenge:


 
 
Well, I'm off to relax and enjoy the weekend. I hope you all do the same. Please be sure to stop by again on Monday when I'll share with you a sneak peek from myImpression Obsession class!

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Happy Fall to One and All

Hi there and Happy Thursday!

Can you believe tomorrow is the first day of fall? Not that I'm complaining, I love fall. I love the colors, the smells....so today, in honor of fall's arrival, here is another card celebrating the colors  and textures of fall:



LG686 Scarecrow
 
If you'd like more details on  how I created this card, please head over to the Papercraft Planet blog where it is the featured post. BONUS, if you leave a comment over there on my post, you'll automatically be entered to win the stencil of your choice.

Speaking of winning the stencil of your choice, did you know that the winners (2) of this month's Dreamweaver Get Inky Challenge gets to choose the stencil they win as their prize. How cool is that! For more details, head on over to the Dreamweaver Dream It Up blog.

And for more inspiration, be sure to check out the other Dream Team members blogs. You can find the links on the right hand column.

I'll be back on Saturday with another reveal from my upcoming September and October classes.

Until then, happy fall to one and all!

Saturday, September 15, 2012

No Hunting Allowed

For me, the hardest cards to design are those for the men in our life. And the feedback I get when I teach is that seems to be everyone else's problem area as well.

So lately when I've been designing for a class, I have tried to incorporate at least one masculine card in each grouping.

Today I am sharing with you one of the cards we will be doing in my upcoming classes later this month and next at both Karen and Friends Creations and at Stampin' Cat Studio.


Impression Obsession
H1863 Hunting Season
I love this card because not only is it a great masculine card but it also comes the warm colors and textures perfect for the fall season.

Please stop by next week when I will share another card from these classes as well as one or two from the Dreamweaver class. Plus on Thursday, September 20, I will again be featured on PaperCraft Planet's blog with another fun, yet easy Dreamweaver tutorial perfect for fall!

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Same stencil, different day!

Hello again,

So on Tuesday I shared with you the Maple Branch LJ900 stencil done with Copper Paste and Metallic F/X so today I thought I'd share another version of this card to help show how versatile Dreamweaver stencils truly are.


Some of you may recognize this card, it was one taught in last fall's stencil classes here in Oregon. (Thank you health issues for not letting me create something new!)

Because this is a card we do in classes, I keep the technique very easy and the design very clean so that students of all experience levels can participate and leave feeling accomplished.

Very simply, you machine emboss the Maple Branch stencil onto a sheet of copper and then with the stencil still in place, you dab on various colors of Dreamweaver's Color Solution alcohol inks. NOTE: if you haven't tried these inks yet, you really should. The intensity of the colors is truly amazing. Very brilliant and a little goes a LONG way!

Okay, I'm heading back to bed so please leave me some healthy love and then head on over to the other "Dreamers" blogs and do the same to them.

Hopefully someone's challenge post will click for you and inspire you to create your own Inky Creations. Remember, this month YOU get to choose the stencil of your choosing as your prize. How cool is that?

Hugs until we meet again.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Shimmering Leaves

I love autumn. Growing up I was a spring and summer person but as I gracefully age (LOL!!!), I have come to realize that I truly love autumn. I love the warm colors, the crisp air, the harvest foods....you name it, I love everything about autumn.

So it comes as no surprise that I love teaching classes that feature fall colors and themes. This card is another sample from my upcoming classes.


Similar to last week's post, this card also uses Twinkling H2Os to create the background paper and then the Sculpted paste technique on the leaves.

I'll be back on Thursday with another look at Dreamweaver's Get Inky challenge. I hope to see you then!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Get Inky and Win a Stencil!

Welcome to September!

Now that summer is "unofficially over", I can get serious again about blogging! And I am so excited because this month's Dreamweaver's challenge really helps to motivate me.

It's a very wide open challenge so there really is no excuse to participate. Are you ready to:

GET INKY WITH STENCILS?

Yes, that's right, time to get inky! And being a stamper at heart and a lover of techniques, this month's challenge is right up my alley (and hopefully yours as well).

PLUS this month we will have just a bit different twist on our monthly challenge ...we are letting you choose any stencil you would like as your prize if you win. Yep, any Dreamweaver stencil you "so desire". We will still have two winners, one for best interpretation of the challenge and one for best usage of Dreamweaver products.

So to start of my INKY month, I thought I'd share a very easy, CAS card that is really quite stunning.


This is one of the cards we will be creating in my October classes at Stampin' Cat Studio and also at Karen and Friends Creations.

I started by first creating a watercolor wash background using Twinkling H2Os and then using the Faux Letterpress technique, machine-embossed the LG745 Tree Line stencil over the painted background.

I love the way this came out. It reminds me of a end of summer sunset!

Please join along with this month. There really is no excuse not to because the theme can be interpreted in soooo many ways.

For additional inspiration, please check out the Dreamweaver blog and the other Dream Team blogs:


I hope you'll stop by next week when I'll be posting not only on Thursday but also on Tuesday and Saturday as well!

Have a great weekend, happy crafting and may the ink stains on your fingers bring out the child in your heart!!!!